Chocolate Cake and Ramblings

This post may be a bit silly, but I feel a bit silly. It may be the chocolate cake that I'm about to tell you about. Or it may be that there's been to much serious pondering going on in my head and it needed a break. What ever the reason, here it is.

I've been on an egg free diet for four years this month and yesterday was the first time I thought about searching Pinterest for an eggless chocolate cake. I wish that this was a reflection of the level of my personal discipline, but it is not.

But enough about that. The thing is, I did search Pinterest for an eggless chocolate cake recipe. And I found one! And it's good!

I was looking for a recipe so I could make an egg free desert this weekend for our belated Christmas gathering with HH's family. When I found the recipe I was so excited about it's potential that, even though it was only and hour-and-a-half before the kid's bed-time, I bribed them with cake for breakfast if they would hurry into their jammies and sit down to let Netflix babysit them so I could make the cake. They were so excited. And unusually cooperative. When I served them their breakfast of chocolate cake this morning I encouraged (or made) them to sing, "Mommy's great! She gives us chocolate cake!"

Oddly enough, after eating the cake they all asked for eggs claiming they just needed some protein to go with their breakfast. My children are strange. And healthier than I am. Apparently I'm doing a good job at training them though!

This is the recipe.

(Note: I didn't try her frosting recipe. But the cake is good. Also, 180 degrees Celsius means 350 degrees Fahrenheit.)

I'm sure that part of my obsession with this cake is that fact that I have not had any chocolate cake in four years. But, growing up with a mom for a baker gives me (in my mind) a pretty good background in cake testing. Not that I'm bragging or anything, but I'm pretty much a professional. Except that I don't get paid. Wouldn't it be lovely to get paid to taste test cakes?!

Other things I loved about that cake: it was very moist and the texture was a lovely combination of dense and fluffy. It was denffy? Flunse?

But I really think my most favorite part of the cake it that it is supposedly an old recipe from war times when food was rationed. Thus, the egglessness. Chocolate cake and nostalgia all rolled up into one perfect package.

It may have had more of a nostalgic impact on me since I enjoyed my first piece whilst watching the first episode of the new seasons of Downton Abbey. It just felt right. I loved the episode, too. Although there were many memorable lines, my favorite was from Lady Grantham to Lord Grantham, "When you talk like that, I'm tempted to call nanny, and have you put to bed with no supper." She really makes the show.

The only downside of watching the premiere was getting to bed an hour later than I planned and needed to. I was a bit tired this morning and maybe a wee sluggish through out the day. But that may also have been from the chocolate cake I had for breakfast. 

Thanksgiving Recipes: Raspberry Pretzel Salad

I've been preparing this for our celebration this year and have received lots of requests for the recipe. Here it is, updated with pictures!


This is one of a few recipes that are served every year for Thanksgiving on my side of the family. I made this to bring to Hot Hubby's family's gathering a couple of years ago and now I make it for both sides every year. It's salty, sweet, and doesn't stay around for very long.

Raspberry Pretzel Salad

Mix together:
3/4 c. melted butter
3 Tbl. sugar
2&1/2 c.thin stick pretzels, broken into 1/2 inch pieces (ish)

Evenly spread out in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Let it completely cool.

Mix together:
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
8oz Cool Whip
1 c. powdered sugar
3 Tbl. milk

Spread over cooled crust sealing off sides with creamed mixture. The creamed mixture acts as a barrier between the pretzel crust and the jello.

Mix together:
1 large raspberry Jello pkg
2&1/2 c. boiling water

Stir together until Jello is dissolved.

Add:
2-12 oz bags of frozen raspberries

Stir until thickened.

Carefully pour on top of creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate until set. 2-4 hours.

My Meal Plan for February

I was going to begin this post by telling you about our lovely, productive weekend. I've felt like I've been so business-y here lately and our weekend was turning out to be a really nice thing to share. Then yesterday happened. Not only am I not ready to talk about it, but I've not had the sleep (or coffee yet) to aid in the words putting into sentence doing. Also, I think that yesterday's events really don't belong in a post about making nummy food. Because then you won't wanna make the yummy food. Anyways, my weekend recap may come mid-week.

Ok. Here it is. My meal plan for this month. I will link to all meals so you can check out the individual recipes. In a few days be watching for my "this is how I made all of this in one day" post.

My approach to meal planning this month was to try more crockpot meals, only do real cooking once a week, and repeat meals for convenience. I'll list the side dishes that I planned as well. Those usually get made in the few minutes to hour before dinner time.

Freezer Meals for the Crockpot:
All my crockpot meals come from sixsistersstuff.com. They are new to us and so far we are liking most of them.


BBQ Spare ribs w/ baked potatoes and veggies x2

Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken w/ roasted potatoes and veggies x2

Cilantro Lime Chicken Burritos x2
This is a recipe we didn't mind but I like my crockpot chicken better.

Black Bean Taco Soup x2
This was delicious! I will definitely make this again!

Freezer Meals for the Oven/Stove:

Pizza x4

Stroganoff w/steamed broccoli x2

Italian Pie w/ veggies x2

Sausage Lasagna w/veggies x2



PW's Chicken Spaghetti w/ veggies x2
I don't make this exactly the same way PW does. I use 2-3 cooked chicken breast diced into bite sized pieces instead of a whole chicken, and veggie broth instead of chicken broth. Still good. Just saves a few steps.


Meals for My Cooking Night:
I love to cook so I reserved one night a week for making a meal. All the other nights I used the freezer meals. It worked out really well for me and I think I'll continue this for awhile.

Doro Wat & lentils w/Injera & kale x2
We are studying Africa this month in our homeschooling and so we decided to make some of our favorite food: Ethiopian! I used some recipes in a seasoning sampler my BFF gave me. If you are super interested in making Ethiopian food we can talk recipes some time. Let me know in the comments.

Orange Chicken x2
I LURV Orange Chicken but I can't get it anymore because of the soy thing. HH and Abiah are addicted too but rarely get to enjoy it out of respect for me. And maybe because I have forbidden that they taste the sweet/tangy nectar of orange chicken since I can't. Maybe. When I saw sixsistersstuff.com had a few recipes I decided to try them both to see if we should add it to our monthly meal plans for good. The guys were pretty excited. 

Our first time around we tried the orange chicken recipe from this post. Mine looked NOTHING like their picture. It had a strong ginger flavor but was strangely still very bland. I added salt, sweet chili sauce, more salt, and more sweet chili sauce and it just didn't get better. The kids loved it so they ate it. I won't use that recipe again.

The second time around we tried this recipe. When I first found the recipe I was super excited because I love orange chicken and this one sounded like it would be good. And then I read the comments. And I wasn't so sure anymore. So many people said they threw it in the trash! Ugh. Anyways, I decided to give it a try but give it a twist. I decided against using the crockpot and just made this one on the stove. It was super simple. The changes I made were: add seasoning salt, garlic, and ginger to the flour mixture and add grated orange peel to the sauce. It wasn't Panda Express good or our favorite  Chinese resturaunt good, but it was good. I'll make it again. We all loved it. And it only took about 1/2 and hour to make. Super easy, ya'll.

Pan Nachos x2

If you have any questions let me know. Enjoy!

Freezer Meals: Sausage Lasagna

Homemade spaghetti sauce is probably one of my favorite things to make. I don't know why exactly, but I love it. I also love that I can use the same recipe to make a delicious lasagna since HH gets tired of spaghetti. This recipe is easy to double.

To make the sauce I use:

One Pizza Sauce recipe

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 cup (ish) chopped mushrooms

1 cup (ish) shredded zucchini

1 cup (ish) sliced mini peppers

1 medium sized onion, diced

1-2 head of garlic, minced

Start by browning your meat. When it is cooked through add the onion and cook until the onion is clear. Add the other veggies and cook until the liquid is mostly evaporated. Add the Pizza Sauce.

To make a lasagna I use:

16 oz of ricotta cheese

1 bunch of onions, sliced

1 cup of shredded mozzarella

1 pkg of no bake lasagna noodles or 1 pkg of bow tie pasta

Mix the ricotta, green onions, and mozzarella together.

In a 9x13 pan layer sauce, noodles, and cheese mix. You want to end your layers with sauce on top. Cover with shredded mozzarella and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes.

For the freezer I wrap each pan twice with saran wrap and then add a layer of foil to the top. You'll want to defrost for 24 hours before baking.

Enjoy!

The Most Delicious Thing You'll Ever Make

So, Mrs Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for Nutella Rice Crispy Treats last week. They looked amazing but I can't have them since Nutella has soy in it. I sent the link to a friend and then read through the post. One of the topping suggestions Ree had was for salted caramel. It was at that moment that the stars aligned and the heaven's split open and the angels sang, "Ahhhhhhh!"

Salted caramel is one of my favorite things EVER! I can have salted caramel. So If I just make rice crispy treats I can top it with salted caramel. And the world would be a better place!

So I convinced HH that I needed to run to the store and he decided he would make dinner that night ( more starts aligning!). By the end of two hours I had a 9x9 pan of marshmallow and caramel goodness.

(Of course the going to the store factors into the time. It only takes a few minutes to make this wonderful treat. So you should do it. Now.)

First make rice crispies. 6 cups of cereal, one 10 ounce bag of marshmallows, and 4 tablespoons of butter. Melt the butter and marshmallows and when completely melted and smooth, mix with cereal. Press mixture into a well buttered 9x9 pan.

For the caramel topping I used one bag of caramels. I don't know what size it was, but just figure the more the merrier. I melted the caramels with about 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk, 1 tablespoon of butter and a splash of milk. When this mixture is smooth and creamy pour it over the rice crispy treats then top with salt. I use sea salt. You'll want to let them sit for a bit before you cut into them to allow the caramel to set.

When you do cut into them eat one right away. It will be the best decision you've made all day.

Lump

The other day Hazel sat down on my lap and told me she thought we should make lump.I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about so she described it for me.

"You take cereal and you put it on a pan and you put candy on the pan and then you put it in the oven and that's lump!"

I giggled and whispered to HH that I kind of wanted to make it with her just because she wanted to. He thought we might have some marshmallows and suggested I try that. Great idea!

I took the girls into the kitchen. I found three or four huge marshmallows and threw those into a glass bowl with a little bit of butter. After melting those in the microwave for a minute or two I had the girls help me fill the bowl with the only cereal we had in the house, fruit loops.

Side note: I stopped buying cereal because it costs so much. The night before we made lump I had decided to bring dry cereal to a girl's night as a snack to share because it just sounded so good. My kids were beyond thrilled because they got the left overs. the excitement of having cereal is what lead to this brilliant idea, I'm sure, since they wanted cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day.

So, after we added the cereal I mixed it all together and dumped it into an 8x8 greased pan. Then, to follow Hazel's instructions, I put it in the oven.  

The oven was set to this temperature:

After we cleaned up we pulled the pan out and we had Lump!

The enthusiastic chefs.

Lump was a perfect treat for the whole family. Try it sometime! Do your kids help in the kitchen? Do they ever come up with their own crazy recipes?

Meal plan for this month: Dinner and Snacks

Tuesday I told you hat I've planned this months for our breakfasts and lunches. Today we're talking dinner and snacks.

Dinner:
Because we are leaving to while we remodel our bathroom I've only planned to weeks of meals. I decided it would be easier this time to pick seven meals and make them twice. This is what I've planned:

Pizza
Burgers
Hot Dogs
Pan Nachos
Taco Salad
Grilled Chicken Salad
Chicken, rice, and broccoli

We do pizza once a week, usually on Friday nights. I use Pioneer Woman's crust recipe which gives us two pizzas per batch. I make one batch if it is just our family and we eat left overs the next day for lunch. Our pizza staples are pepperoni, pineapple, and olives. Sometimes we have other meats and veggies or we do one pizza with just olives and pineapple.

When we do burgers and hot dogs we usually have salad, potato salad, or veggies and fruit along side. I save this meal for the busy days because it is so simple.

For pan nachos I cook up some burger with taco seasoning, add some beans, and spread it across a cookie sheet. Top it with cheese and your favorite toppings and bake until the cheese is melted. We place the pan in the middle of the table and HH and I eat off the pan. When the kids are old enough to not make the world's largest mess with their food they can join us in this part of the meal. Until then they eat off of plates.

Pan Nachos family style

Mmmmmmm!

I'm trying to have two different salad dinners a week during the summer. Taco salad and grilled chicken salad are both so easy. I add as many veggies as I can. Most of the time I add shredded zucchini to my taco meat because no one knows so they eat it without complaining. Well, at least they aren't complaining about that part.

I like to keep a plate of chopped veggies for easy salad preparation.

Salad fixings!

Chicken, rice, and steamed broccoli is another easy meal. I season my chicken with lemon pepper and grill it or bake it in the oven. I serve this meal with sweet chili sauce and terriyaki. Jackson is the only one who has a hard time with this meal. He is still getting used to the texture of rice though. I'm sure he'll enjoy it more when he's older.

With all our dinners I try to have veggies, fruit, and/or salad. My kids didn't really eat salad very well until I just kept serving it to them. They really like it most of the time now. I try to have a wide variety of veggies to add to our salads. I cut them all up onto a plate and we eat off of it for a few days. The kids all have their different veggies that they don't prefer but I try to leave those off their personal plates.

Snacks:

I've gone back and forth about snacks for my kids. For a long time they had animal crackers and fish cracker in constant supply. They got tired of them though and I decided to just give them other things instead and so for a long time they've had cheese slices, fruit, and/or a piece of candy for an afternoon snack.

Between holidays, birthdays, and my mom coming over for a few minutes here and there my kids have a constant supply of candy. I have freezer jam containers for each one of them that they store their goods in and they get a piece or two for snack. I used to buy fruit snacks but I stopped because they already have so much candy.

This month I bought the crackers again. I wanted them for two reasons. The first one being that I wanted something to give to Jackson for snack. These crackers are easy to pack for the days when we are going to be out and I know I'm going to need something to hold him over. He's getting tired of Trader Joe's cheerios. The second reason I wanted to get the crackers is for when we have other kids over I'll have a little snack for them too. 

For HH and myself I usually have something special tucked away for us to enjoy. Sometimes we get ice cream. Sometimes I make cookies. Right now one of my favorites is hot tamales and popcorn. Mmmmmm.

What are your plans for dinner this week? Do you have any yummy snacks planned?

Meal plan for this month: Breakfast and Lunch

Now that my cupboards no longer look like this I have some nummy food planned for my family. I usually meal plan for a whole month but this month is different. We are going to be remodeling our bathroom in a few weeks. Yay! But we only have one bathroom so we have to move out while the remodel is being done.

We will be staying with my in-laws during the remodel so my MIL and I will join forces and do all of our meals together. I'll do more shopping then but for now this is what I have planned for us to be eating.

Breakfast:

I stopped buying cereal awhile ago because it is just so expensive for our family to eat. Our main choices for breakfast are oatmeal or eggs and toast, both served with fruit. This month I bought a few containers of yogurt for the kids, too. Because I can't eat eggs I usually rotate my breakfast between yogurt, cottage cheese, and oatmeal.

Hot Hubby doesn't do oatmeal so he usually gets a breakfast like this.

Strawberry oatmeal with pecans

It may sound boring but I make sure to change things up. Oatmeal is easy to change with different fruits or spices. I like to use left over pasta to make fritatas or omlettes. I also buy a package of pancake mix every few months and we do pancakes on Saturdays.

How Jackson feels about breakfast

This may sound like too much cooking, and sometimes it feels that way, but most of the seven years of our marriage HH has been home for breakfast so I've tried to make big meals for him and also make it special like most families do for dinner because sometimes it is the meal we eat together as a family. And since I'm home a lot it's not as big a deal for me to cook. Also, I just really like to cook.

Lunch:

I try to keep lunch fairly simple. We usually have fruits and veggies with pb&j, homemade mac n' cheese, meat sandwiches, or, our favorite, a snacky lunch.

For sandwiches I save a lot of money by making my own bread. I try to make one batch every week which gives me three loaves. I get a few cans of chicken every month and I buy Kirkland brand tri-pack lunch meats from Costco. They have turkey and "pam" and Amelia calls it. We like the "pam" the best. In an attempt to use what I had on hand, this last month I used tortillas to make sandwiches for my kids and they loved it. I bought one package of tortillas just for that for this month. It's cheaper than bread so if I don't get a chance to make bread I don't feel bad about making them sandwich roll ups.

I stopped buying mac n' cheese and started making my own to try to save money. This was a big step for me because I'm a Kraft girl through and through. I thought I'd never be able to give the stuff up, but in the last few years it has started tasting more chemically to me. To make mine I use these amounts per box of regular mac n' cheese:

1&1/2 cups elbow noodles
1/4 c butter
1/4 c milk
1/2 c parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

I get big bags of elbow noodles and I buy the parmesan in bulk. Make it like you would a box of macaroni. My kids have loved this. You can also just do noodles, butter, and cheese. Amelia was the only one who didn't really care for it that way, but they all love it when I use milk too.

And then there's the snacky lunch. Snacky lunch is a favorite from my childhood. My kids love it just as much as me and my siblings did. Snacky lunch is basically finger foods with dip. We do lots of fruits and veggies with a little bit of meat, cheese, olives, and sometimes some crackers. We use ranch, ketchup, and peanut butter for our dips.

My snacky lunch

Snacky lunch for one of the kids

Even Jackson likes snacky lunch

Do you meal plan? What do you normally do for breakfast and lunch? Look for a post on dinners and snacks on Thursday!

The Lady Time Beverage

If you are male this post may be a little to much information for you. If you are a married man I highly suggest that you skip to the end, make a steamy mug of this delicious drink, and serve it to your leading lady. She'll thank you. And you'll thank yourself.


As you can tell by the title of this post, we are about to get real comfortable around here. I wouldn't normally choose such a public forum to talk about personal matters but sometimes you come across a gem of information and you just can't help but share. So here.we.go.

I grew up in a female dominated house. Bless my dad's heart, I'm sure he was overwhelmed by the hormone tsunamis that frequented our home. I remember my mom telling us over and over again that hormones were no excuse to be nasty. As real as the emotional roller coaster is I have tried to ride it as gracefully as I can. Tried.

In the last few years I have come to understand more about the female cycle than I knew growing up. Along the way I've purposed to gather tips and bits of information to help myself (and the women around me) balance the way through the monthly cycle. Recently, when I was complaining to a friend about a migraine, she pointed out to me that she tends to get migraines right before her cycle begins. In that moment the dots began to connect and I realized what I was dealing with. Apparently this is a common issue for women.

My friend then shared a tip she had been given to help relieve hormonal migraines. And that is what I'm sharing with you.

The secret? Homemade Hot Chocolate.

I don't mind chocolate, but I really only need it once a month. For about one week. I don't really care for hot chocolate either. But this is not your wimpy store bought hot chocolate. The benefit of this drink is that chocolate reduces inflammatory chemicals, reducing the pressure on the brain and relieving the migraine symptoms.

Here's what you'll need for this treat:

Homemade Hot Chocolate

baking cocoa
sugar or honey
cream or milk
boiling water
your favorite mug

This really isn't a recipe since you kind of have to make it to your own taste, but here's the gist:

Set your water to boil. Pour the amount of milk/cream desired into your mug. If you like your hot chocolate creamy I suggest heating it up in the microwave for a few seconds so everything is nice and warm. When your milk/cream is heated add a heaping soup spoon of cocoa. Since you are using baking cocoa you kind of have to be extreme with the sweetener. Honestly, I start with a few teaspoons and then, after I've added the water, taste and add as needed. I mix all of these ingredients together and then add the hot water. Because of the amount of cocoa used you'll have to continue to stir off and on as you enjoy your treat to keep the cocoa from settling to the bottom of the mug.

I've enjoyed many cups of homemade hot chocolate since I heard about the benefits. I'm still perfecting my personal recipe but so far I know that I like it rich, sweet, creamy, and steamy. Which, consequently, are also some of the qualities I like in Hot Hubby.

Now that we've reached a whole new level of T.M.I. I think it's time to say good bye.

Remember to try this treat the next time you are battling a migraine. And let me know what you think!

Do as I say. Not as I done did.

In my last recipe post I made the obvious statement that I wouldn't post a flopped recipe on here. My thought was that such a posting wouldn't be helpful anyways. Why would someone read a recipe for something that won't turn out?

Well, I've always believed that it's easier to learn from others mistakes so I thought I'd give you such an opportunity.

I'm real giving in that way. You're welcome.

So, without further rambling, I give you today's "don't try this at home" recipe:

Egg Free Crepes

To begin, I want to state that I'm not so much of an idiot that I didn't realize that the base of a crepe is egg. However, being as I'm allergic to eggs I wanted to see if I could make something that I've missed in my current egg-less state.

Do NOT take:

4 tablespoons of ground flax, mixing it with 12 tablespoons of water to substitute for 4 eggs and mix with:

dash of salt
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of flour
1 cup of milk
1/3 cup of melted butter

Mixing in order and then baking in a round skillet 1/4 cup at a time.

If you do you will inevitably:

• feel awful about wasting 1/3 a cup of butter that is sinfully expensive right now.
• have to throw out a bowl full of messy goop.
• have three children who are still hungry and are letting you know but coming into the kitchen every minute to check on the status of breakfast.
• settle on cold cereal.
• be sad that you can't have crepes.

You may, however, make the recipe above by starting with 4 eggs well beaten and make the crepes for all the egg eaters of your house. They are easy and delicious. And I still want one.

P.S. I have had great success in using flax meal mixed with water as an egg substitute in baked goods. Crepes do not count as baked goods. Amen.

Another "ish" Recipe: Butternut Squash Alfredo Sauce

I mentioned before that I tend to cook using the "ish" method. Though most of my attempts turn out well, I have my fair share of failures.

Thankfully this isn't one of those. Of course, if it was a flop I wouldn't be sharing it here anyways.

Forgive me for stating the obvious. Your patience is much appreciated.

So. The recipe. You'll need:

1 butternut squash, baked or steamed
heavy whipping cream or half-n-half or milk (depends on your fat content preference)
Parmesan cheese, the powder works just fine
salt and pepper

So, after you've baked or steamed your butternut squash, puree it until smooth. I added about a quarter cup of water to help the pureeing process.

Pour the butternut squash into a pan and begin to heat it up.

Add about a cup of Parmesan, stirring it well so as to break up any clumps. As the sauce heats up the Parmesan melts and the sauce gets smoother.

Slowly add your choice of heavy whipping cream, half-n-half or milk until it reaches the consistency that you prefer.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over your favorite pasta (mushroom stuffed ravioli is exceptionally delicious with this sauce!).

Give it a try sometime this week and let me know what you think!

Easy Guacamole

A man from our church shared this "recipe" for guacamole a few weeks ago. It's too good not to share. Easy and delicious? Sign me up! It also happens to be quite healthy, too!

1 ripe avocado, smashed
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or smashed
(I highly recommend the Pampered Chef garlic press)
salt and pepper to taste

Serve with your favorite chips or on top of your favorite Mexican dish. Enjoy!

Refried Beans from Canned Black Beans and Pan Nachos

Because of my issue with soy I am needing to find alternatives for most foods, refried beans being one of them. My amazing sister showed me how to make my own "refried beans" using canned black beans. It is super easy and equally delicious.

For my family of five I use:

2 - 14oz cans of black beans (drained and rinsed well)
3-4 cloves of garlic (peeled and chopped finely)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of water

Boil these on the stove until most of the liquid has been cooked out. Then you can either serve them as is or mash them up a bit. I put them through the food processor for a few seconds since I don't have a potatoes masher.

I have been using this recipe to make nachos so I usually add about a 1/4 cup of taco seasoning. Also, don't be afraid to add some minced veggies. I've added onion and zucchini (mince half a zucchini in the food processor or blender before mashing the beans) and my family was none the wiser.

The fact that this is a healthier version of refried beans hasn't occurred to them either. I LOVE it!

For Pan Nachos:

If you want meat:

brown 1 lb of burger (add taco seasoning packet)
add beans
add 1 can of stewed tomatoes (drained)

Spread on a large cookie sheet or pizza pan. Top with your favorite nacho toppings (cheese, olives, green onions, jalapenos, etc). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden around the edges. Serve with chips, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc. You can even use it as a filling for burritos.

This recipe gives us plenty for one dinner and lots of leftovers. Since it's not a meal the girls especially enjoy we usually have plenty left over. I made this for the five of us and my parents and we still had leftovers so I imagine it would be safe to say it feeds 6-8 adults (with the meat).

Enjoy!

Meatballs and a Veggie Spaghetti Recipe

This is a recipe my mom came up with for me when she was helping me prepare once-a-month meals about a two years ago. I don't know if she made it up or just had it in her head. It would totally be like her to make it up. She pretty much a culinary genius.

And as soon as she reads this I will officially be her favorite!

I use this recipe for spaghetti (Hot Hubby prefers it with meat balls instead of meat sauce. Wierdo.), sweet 'n sour meat balls, Swedish meatballs, meatball subs. The list is endless really. And it's making me hungry.

This is also a triple or quadruple recipe. I separate them into meal size portions and freeze them in gallon freezer bags. I usually shop once a month so I plan a few meatball recipes for the month and then I only have to make the meatballs once. Easy-peasy!

Meatballs

4 lbs of burger
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1&1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs ( used this egg replacer and it worked perfectly)
1&1/4 cups milk
1&1/2 cups bread crumbs (I use oatmeal. My mom always did when we were little. I think it's a Weight Watcher thing. It works though.)

Last week when I made this recipe it yielded about 156 1 inch meatballs.

Mix all the ingredients together (I use my KitchenAid mixer). Shape into 1 inch balls. Pampered Chef sells a 1 inch ice cream scoop that works wonders for this. Bake on a sprayed pan for 20 minutes at 350.

If you haven't yet, you should totally check out the sweet 'n sour recipe above. Here's my recipe for spaghetti:

Disclaimer: When I cook I don't measure a whole lot unless I'm following a specific recipe. I use the "ish" system. Use your own discretion and add what sounds good to you.

Also, I pre-cut most of my veggies and store them in the freezer in recipe size portions. This helps insure that my dinner preparations are simple and it also makes it easier to get veggies into our meals. If you have picky eaters chopped or shred the veggies into small pieces that they won't be able to see. As long as there isn't an allergy possibility I add it. Hot Hubby doesn't like zucchini and Abiah doesn't care for mushrooms but they eat them all the time. Most of the time they don't even know.

Veggie Filled Spaghetti Sauce

If you are using a meat other than the meatballs brown it in a separate pan and add later.

1 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbls butter

Heat the oils in a large skillet. When heated through add:

1 onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup (ish) of chopped mushrooms
1 zucchini chopped or shredded
1 cup of bell peppers sliced ( I get a combo pack of mini peppers from Costco and send them through the food processor. They freeze well for sauces and soups.)

When these start to brown I add 1 large can of tomato sauce (24 oz I think) and a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes. (This is also where I would add the browned burger. Add meatballs later.)

This is where I get my "ish" on. These portions are a guess but a great place to start.

2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
two or three dashes of salt
1 or 2 dashes of pepper
1 tsp of sugar ( I don't usually add more sugar unless I have a very bitter sauce.)
If you can handle the spice, add 1 tsp or so if crushed red peppers. Mmmmm...

Let all of these simmer together. If you are using meatballs, add them at this point and let them simmer in the sauce.

When your noodles are done cooking add about 1/2 a cup of the starchy water to the sauce and let it simmer a little longer.

You can serve this over your favorite noodles or serve it in hoagie rolls, add a piece of cheese to the top and broil in the oven until the cheese is melted for a yummy meatball sub.

Let me know what you think!

What's for Dinner?

Right before Christmas I posted on Facebook that I made a Cajun chicken fettuccine dish for dinner. Instead of comments about the cream/carb combo and how bad it is for a person, I got requests for the recipe. My dear Aunt went as far as to suggest that I create a weekly menu and post it here for you all to use.

I wish that I was that organized!

Though I have been trying to do that for myself, posting my weekly menu here would mean posting all the recipes. I would love to do that too! But the time! I just don't have it right now. So I will post recipes when I can and hopefully you all can use one or two of them.

Tonight's recipe came from a different Facebook conversation.

A friend mentioned needing some crockpot recipes. I left her a link to a recipe I posted here about a year ago and she left this recipe for me:

Mexican Chicken

Place 8-10 frozen chicken tenders in the crockpot. Rinse a can of black beans and add to the crockpot. Add frozen corn or a can of corn drained. Pour a jar of your favorite salsa over the top and cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours. 20-30 minutes before serving add a package of cream cheese and stir it in. Serve over rice!

How easy-peasy is that?!?

I made this tonight and it was fantastic. I actually got bored between 4:30 and 5. Usually I am running around trying to finish dinner so we can eat by 6 and I had nothing to do! Besides laundry, dishes, and more laundry.

Since I used rice we had left over from a meal a few days ago there was just enough for our dinner tonight. I took the rest of the Mexican Chicken, added a can of olives and made a make-shift enchilada topped with a can of El Pato tomato sauce, cheese and olives. That little left over gem is in the freezer for a quick meal next week!

There are so many variations or ingredients you could add to this. I almost added shredded zucchini but I wanted to try the recipe as it was written first. You could also add the cooked rice to the pot and serve it in tortillas or pour it over chips.

It was definitely easy and we will be making this again. Soon!

What was for dinner at your house?

Man Soup or Cheesey Sausage Potato Soup

I know I've posted lots of recipes lately and I was planning to share something else, but when you make the best soup EVER how can you not share!?!

As is pretty typical with my cooking, I gathered a few ingredients I thought would be good together, threw them in a pot, and called it dinner. Or in this case perfection. Whichever.

What I always fail to do is write the recipe down. Thus causing my family and myself to never taste of its awesomeness again.

Thankfully, Nathan, who isn't much of a soup guy, told me I should write it down and Abiah suggested I do it while we ate. So I did. They are so good to all of us, aren't they?

I call this Man Soup because it actually filled Nathan up AND he wanted me to write the recipe down, which, in "Nathan Speak", roughly means, "Woman! This is the best food EVER! Never stop making this as long as I'm alive! You amaze me! I knew I married you for more than your good looks, crazy awesome personality, and childbearing hips! Let me adorn you with diamonds and rare jewels and praise you at the city gates!"

Or something like that...

So, the recipe.

Please remember that when I cook I rarely use measuring devices unless I'm following a recipe. Especially with the spices. I under-guessed the measurements so that you can add what you feel it needs.

MAN SOUP

7ish medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Place these in a pot of water and boil until the potatoes are soft all the way through.

In the meantime brown the next two ingredients until they start to get just a little black on them.
Flavor people! We call it flavor.

1 large onion, chopped
1 lb Italian Turkey sausage

Add 1 tsp sage and mix together

When the potatoes are done add about a cup of the water to the pan of sausage and onions and add 1 tsp of chicken bullion stirring to combine ( the water from the cooking potatoes has lots of starch in it and will help to keep the soup thick).

When combined, add 1 more cup of the water and mix in.

Then add 1&1/2 cups of half-n-half.

You wanna do it. You know you do!

Simmer to thicken.

Now, you want to drain most of the remaining water leaving maybe 1 cup in the potatoes. I just drained it until I thought I could create a thick-ish soup.

This is the part where it would be helpful to have measurements and pictures. Neither of which I am good at or have. Sorry. Just trust your senses.

Now, mash the potatoes. You don't want it to be completely smooth though, so leave some lumps!

Add the simmering sausage mixture to the potatoes, stirring to combine. At this point you can add a cup or two of corn if you want (I added frozen corn to my kids bowls to cool their soup down).

Add 2 cups of shredded cheese AND a 1/4 block of cream cheese. It's so good you don't want to leave it out. I swear!

Mix until combined.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with big pieces of crusty bread and ENJOY!

The weather around here has definitely turned to soup season and I think we will be enjoying this one many times this winter.

Let me know how you like it!

Thanksgiving Recipes: Desi's Homemade Rolls & A Story from 7th Grade

During my 4th-7th grade school years we attended our church's private school. My mom, being the amazing cook that she is, became the lunch lady. Every week she would put out batches and batches of fresh bread dough that she and her friend, Desi, would use to create the most amazing dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and homemade hot dog wraps EVER!

The food that was served in that cafeteria could never be considered cafeteria food. We were such spoiled private school kids.

During my 7th grade year I got recruited to sift flour EVERY morning. I started the moment we arrived until the bell rang for assembly. It was kitchen boot camp. And I needed it.

Unknown to my mom, I had just found out that one of the boys in my class "loved" me. I caught a glimpse of his spiral notebook that said "I LOVE SH...." And that's all I saw before he ripped it away so I couldn't read the rest. I assumed he meant one of my two friends who's names also started with SH, but, after swearing I wouldn't tell anyone what it said, he sheepishly revealed the contents of that page to me and I was shocked to find my own name written in his scrawling 7th grade boy handwriting. That "love" lasted about two weeks when he traded me in for one of my other class mates. 7th grade love can be so fickle.

Since both my new crush and I arrived at school early I had "plans" for what that hour before school would hold. I'm sure it was God saving me from getting in trouble with a capital T, because it wasn't long after my discovery of "love" that my mom had me spending ALL my free time in the morning standing in the kitchen sifting mountain after mountain of fluffy white flour. At the time I was sure she knew my secret. Now I'm really not sure if she did or not.

And even though that crush didn't last long, there were others. Many others. And there were only 7 boys in my 7th grade class. Like I said, 7th grade love is fickle.

All of that to say, this is the bread that I spent hours sifting flour for. And it's an amazing recipe.




Desi's Bread

2 Tbl. yeast
1/2 c. sugar
1tsp salt
2 c. warm water

Mix and let yeast soften.

Mix in:

1 egg, beaten (Or you can use this egg replacer if you are allergic to eggs like me!)
1/4 c. oil

Slowly add:

6&1/2 c. sifted flour (If you use the egg replacer I used you might need a little more flour to keep it from being too sticky.)

Knead bread until dough is soft and satiny. Should be a little sticky. Let it double. Punch it down. Make into two braids or loaves, or 24 dinner rolls. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let double. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

When they come out of the oven immediately covered one in butter and eat it! It's just the right thing to do.



Or, if you have more self-control than I do, you can also let them cool and freeze them. Enjoy!

The Best Pumpkin Bread Ever!

Every fall this is the recipe I am eager to make. Not that it can't be made any other time of the year. It's just one of those fall things. This recipe is full of flavor and is positively sinful!

Pumpkin Bread

5 c. flour, lightly fluffed
4 c. sugar (Trust me here.)
4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cloves
3 tsp cinnamon
4 c. pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
1 c. oil
1&1/2 c. chopped nuts (pecans are my favorite)
1 c. raisins (I like to do half raisins and half dried cranberries)

Mix together dry ingredients. Add pumpkin and oil. Mix well. Add nuts and raisins. Mix well. Pour into 3 well sprayed loaf pans or you can use muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Remember to test the center to make sure they are baked through. Freezes well.

My favorite way to enjoy them is chilled. With a generous slab of cream cheese. It's how I roll. Or how I get rolls...

I Should Have Made It Spicy

Maybe then I wouldn't have eating the whole bowl.

You see, I made a bowl of pico de gallo. And then I had to taste test it. And it was good. Very good.

And since I hadn't had any lunch, I ate it. But my in-laws were coming for dinner. And I promised homemade pico de gallo.

So I made more. Gladly.

Homemade Pico de Gallo:

Equal parts:

onion, tomato, and cilantro diced small and mixed together with 1 or 2 diced jalapeno peppers.

Removing the seeds from the jalapenos keeps your pico de gallo on the mild side. Which was my mistake. I think. I can't decide. It was awfully good.

Add the juice from half a lime and salt to taste. And taste you will.

(My mom just informed me that she adds crushed garlic which sounds divinity! I'm gonna try it next time.)

Serve with chips or on your favorite Mexican dish. Mmmmmm. I think I need to go make a fresh batch.

A Course In Justification: Session 2

I know that we still have about a month before school starts, but I assure you that this is one class you'll want to take year round.

I recently found out that I am allergic to soy and eggs. This has caused some major changes in my shopping and cooking. But the biggest (and saddest) change has been the lack of chocolate around the PnP Castle. Because SOY IS IN EVERYTHING! It's been so long since I've had chocolate that I'm convinced my body is shutting down.

So, for health purposes only, I decided to make a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

How do you make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies without soy and eggs you ask?

Well, I purchased these soy free chocolate chips, which taste exactly like regular chocolate chips. They are a little on the spend-y side, but a momma's gotta do what a momma's gotta do. Which means making these babies last!

To replace eggs in baking there are a few options: egg replacers, or 1/4 cup veggie oil or applesauce per egg. I chose applesauce. Because I'm healthy like that.

So, I made up my favorite recipe. And then I had an epiphany.

No eggs = no salmonella poisoning=eating all the cookie dough!

I think my body is on the mend. I know for sure when I finish of this plate of cookies.


OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Mix together: 1/2 cup softened butter, 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar.

Add: 2 eggs or egg substitute, 1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl mix together: 1&1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt.
Add to creamed mixture.

Mix in 3 cups oatmeal.

Mix in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.